Beverage case



A. w. REED BEVERAGE CASE Nov; 13, 1951 Filed Aug. 12, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet l I Inventbr v p a 3 Attorneys NOV. 13, W. REED BEVERAGE CASE Filed Aug. 12, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3.

Inventor Arthur W. Reed Nov. 13, 1951 REED 2,574,983

BEVERAGE CASE Filed Aug. 12, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I L IL I qk Iuremor Arthur w Reed I mu away E M57163 Patented Nov. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

BEVERAGE CASE Arthur WQReed, Little Rock, Ark. Application August 12, 1947, Serial No. 768,155

This invention relates to improvements in beverage cases. a

An object of the invention is to provide an improved beverage case of plastic or metal which will include several inter-locking fabricated portions and spacing tubes disposable between said portions, said portions and tubes being held in assembled position in any desired manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of beverage case includinga side wall portion having inwardly rolled upper and lower edges, a fabricated top having a rolled peripheral edge supported in the upper rolled edge of said side wall portion, a'corrugated bottom having a rolled peripheral edge, anda fabricated tray also having a rolled peripheral edge which is supported together with the peripheral edge on said bottom within the lower rolled edge of said side wall portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide" an improved stackable beverage case formed of plastic or metal, the same being held in assembled position by means of spot welds or in any other desired manner without the use of securing rivets-or bolts. a i i I A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved stackable beverage case which will be formed without the use of rivets or bolts, and which will be prefabricated so that the same may be readily and quickly assembled.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved plastic or metal bottle container or beverage receptacle which will be highly efficient in use, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce;

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In theaccompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved plastic or metal beverage receptacle;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner of the plastic or metal beverage receptacle or case showing the same partly broken away and in section;

Figure 3 is an enlargedperspective View of a corner of a modified form of plastic or metal beverage receptacle showing the use of'spot welding for securing the receptacle in assembled position;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through a side of the modified form of beverage receptacle shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 1; and

:4 claims. (craze-21) Figure 6 is a perspective view of a corner of a plastic or metal beverage receptacle formed with a top tray and a combined bottom tray with integrally formed side walls with the peripheral edge of the top tray being formed with arolled bead supported in an enveloping rolled bead formed about the upper edge of said sides.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the following specification and the accompanying drawings to designate corresponding parts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided an improved form of plastic or metal bottle container or beverage receptacle generally designated by the reference numeral l.

The improved receptacle I will be prefabricated and will be readily and quickly assembled without either the use of bolts or rivets.

A substantially rectangular side wall portion 2 is provided with rounded corners 3 and is formed on its upper peripheral edge with an inwardly rolled bead 4, and is formed on its lower' peripheral edge with the larger inwardly rolled bead 5. The upper portion of the side wall 2 will lie in a vertical plane, while the lower portion of said side wall 2 will be angled inwardly and downwardly, as clearly shown in the drawings.

A transversely extending top or tray 6 will be prefabricated and will be formed with a peripheral upwardly and inwardly rolled bead l about its edges for being received and interlocked within the bead 5 about the top of the side wall portion 2 of the beverage case I, Transversely and longitudinally extending rows of bottle re" ceiving openings 8 are stamped or otherwise formed through the top or tray 6 and are provided with the downwardly extending peripheral Iflanges 9 about each of said openings 8.

'As seen best in Figures 3 and 4, an intermediate tray m is formed with 2, depending peripheral flange l l which terminates on its lower end with the inwardly rolled bead 12 adapted to lie within the larger inwardly rolled head 5 about the lower edge of the side wall portion 2 of the case I. Similar transversely and longitudinally extending rows of bottle receiving openings 13 are formed through the tray I E! below and in vertical alignment with the openings 8 in the top or tray 6, and similar downwardly extending peripheral flanges M are formed about each of said openings [3.

Two or more openings I5 are formed through the tray Ill and are'formed with the surrounding upwardly extending sleeves l6 for supporting the tubular or cylindrical spacing tubes l1 extending between the top tray 6 and the intermediate tray I0.

A bottom I8 is provided with spaced transverse upwardly extending corrugations I9 for receiving the tops of the rows of bottles (not shown) in a lower case when said cases are stacked one. upon another, and for supporting the rows of bottles in the case I in which the bottom IB is supported. iiThei bottom l8 sistiormed with; a depending peripheralside wall 20 which is angled inwardly to extend in parallel relation to the lower part of the side wall portion 2 of the case I, and is formed with an inturned peripheral bead 2| received within the bead 12 on the intermediate tray l l].

The space from the lowemsurfacerofuthewbottom "3 to the lower portion of the larger rolled bead 5 on the side wall portion 2 will provide suflicient support for keeping the same stacked firmly i whenbeing. washed ;and rinsed.

From the .foregoingiadescriptiong lt'ZWill: :be-:.se.en qthatithe hereinbefore describedcbeizerage casewill \be held:.in assembled;positionxwithoutthe use of zzriyetsnorboltsiof. any.;ty.pe.

Ll ThEJlfOIITD :of; the invention illustrated :in Fig- .iures .1, 2. and 5' contemplate theuse-of. acase 22 having. a';side:wall=:portionz 2 3: which. is:a ngled in- -.ward1y as at hadj acent its :loweredgeand formed :zwithamintegral .solid bottom: 2 5.

The upper peripheral edge of the side wall'portion. 23.: is :rolled:.inwardly as, at 2 6.

Uppersand lower.bottle-supporting.trays 21 and -..2ilzrespectively:are provided with-upwardly extending. attaching: flanges--29 and -30 respectively v. and. are attached to-theinner surface .of the side .wall portioniZS by; means ofathezspot-weldst l Verticallyaligned rows of lopeningsSZ-and .33 1 areformed through the.tr ays-2'l and -:28.and are r surrounded by the dependingeperipheralefianges 4" 34 and 35- respectively.

Supporting collars 35 are formed upon-.-the lower tray 28 andsupport-the cylindricalspacing .tubes :31.

Hand hold openingsBS-and 39 will be formed in the-:endsandsides ofthelsidewall: portion..23 and have .their upper. and lower+edges rolledv .as

at 40 and 4| respectively to prevent cutting-or injury :of .the hands when hand-ling the cases.

. the top or=tray 42=.to-.firmlyinterlock andsupport 1.13118 same.

Transversely and longitudinally-extending rows .of bottle receiving penings.,-48. will...be.formed throughthe top or tray 42;and will.be..formed with downwardly-extendingperipheral. flangesJlH.v

- abouteach' of said openings .48.

tles (not shown) .The. upper "surface of.-the.-ybottom 0r .tray 44 will be slightly elevatedahout the bottoms of the c .seats'or wells -50.

As in the other forms of the invention tubular or cylindrical spacing tubes will be disposed between the top or tray 43 and the bottom or tray 44 for adding strength and rigidity to the 5 completed beverage case.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that there has been devised and provided a highly eificient form of beverage container which will be prefabricated and assembled readily withl0;-.out;the ,usesofiirivets: orbolts 'ofi,.any :;type and whichmay be'manufactured at a relatively inexpensive cost. While the preferred embodiment of the insstant' invention has ,been illustrated and de- 16 scribed it will be understood that it is not intended to l-imit the scope of the invention therei-.to.as.ma ny5minorschanges in detail of construction may be resorted to without departure from thespirit of the invention. Having described ithe zclaimed; asmew; is

1. A beverage case comprising, prefabricated z sidelsandwend walls..formed with inwardly; ex- :;tending. -..upper. and lower .rollededges, a.bottom thereformiormed. ;with. spaced-wand .transversely z extendin'g raised. .corrugations, .theunder side. of 5;saidmcorrugationsproviding: bottle top receiving recesses wherebyr when a plurality I .of cases are avertically stacked the bottle topsrof av lowercase :.wi1ll be:;firmly held =in .the recesses, a peripheral -.:rolled:edge 0n.saidbottom .supported: in..the low- .?.er.::nolled.,edge.- on ;said..side, andendwalls; .top

. and? intermediate trays; having vertically aligned :rowso'fi bottlegsupporting openings alignable with said-3. spaced-corrugations.-. and formed with ---pecripheral" rolled. edges. respectively supported; in

. :thewrjolled' edges in r the top :and bottom of said 1' 16356.1 side; and. end walls,-.; the lower portions .of said case side and end?walls-etaperinggdowninvention, what is aiwardly; ands-inwardly whereby. a plurality of ;:cases-:may-.;be-- vertically stacked, and spaced re- .;-infor.cing-, means. disposed between. said trays and xsecured thereto at. their oppositeends.

. 21A beverage :case comprising prefabricated side 4;, and end walls formed withinwardly extending supper andlowerl-rolled-edges of. different sizes, a .wbottom therefor formed with spaced and. trans- .rverselyextending yraisedcorrugations, ;the; under aside.- :01? said corrugations zprovidingrbottle. top .re-

.50 sceivingrecesseswhereby when a-pluralityof cases :2 areyerticallystacked-thebottle-topsof a lowercase wil1-be K firmly held-in the recesses, aperipheral rolled edgeon :said bottom supported. in. the lower .rolled edge .of-.said side :and end walls top. and

.55 intermediate trays having-vertically. aligned rows of bottle supporting openings.,alignable with said spaced corrugations and having depending. peripheral flanges :iormed about-said openings, said trays having peripheral-rolled:edges:respectively .60; supported-in ethe rolled i edges. in the, topand bottom of saidrcasasideeand. endwa11s,,.the..lower .portion-.ofsaidcase side.-and end walls tapering downwardly. and inwardly. whereby a' plurality of cases.,may.:be:.vertically..stacked, spaced collars .65 formed on the upper surface ofthe lower tray, and. cylindrical. reinforcing. .and spacing tubes disposed .about sa'id...c'ollars. extending between said trays and. secured thereto at their opposite :ends.

.70 3. A beverage case comprising prefabricated 1 sideand .end wallsformed with inwardly extend- ..ing upper.andlowerroHededgeS, a bottom therefor formed with spaced and transversely extending .raised corrugations, the under side of said 27-75 corrugations providing bottle top receiving recesses whereby when a plurality of cases are vertically stacked the bottle tops of a lower case will be firmly held in the recesses, a peripheral rolled edge on said bottom supported in the lower rolled edge on said side and end walls, top and intermediate trays having vertically aligned rows of bottle supporting openings alignable with spaced corrugations and formed with peripheral rolled edges respectively supported in the rolled edges in the top and bottom of said case side and end walls, and the lower portion of said side and end walls tapering downwardly and inwardly whereby a plurality of cases may be vertically stacked.

4. A beverage case comprising prefabricated side and end walls formed with inwardly extending upper and lower arcuately rolled edges, a bottom therefor formed with spaced transversely extending raised corrugations and having a peripheral rolled edge receivable for looking engagement in the lower rolled edge on said side and end walls, top and intermediate trays having vertically aligned rows of bottle supporting openings formed with peripheral rolled edges respectively receivable in the rolled edges on the top and bottom of said case side and end walls whereby the trays may be locked in supported position.

ARTHUR W. REED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 43,287 Burnham June 28, 1864 907,912 Stock Dec. 29, 1908 10 1,040,870 Brand et a1 Oct. 8, 1912 1,310,161 Johnson July 15, 1919 1,995,310 Kruger Mar. 26, 1935 2,063,390 Lindell Dec. 8, 1936 2,247,620 Robinson July 1, 1941 2,407,455 Shakesby Sept. 10, 1946 2,416,242 Taurman Feb. 18, 1947 2,436,236 Taurman Feb. 17, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 45,867 France Oct. 7, 1935 256,374 Great Britain Aug. 12, 1926 632,816 France Oct. 17, 1927 804,393 France Aug. 3, 1936 

